I was ‘tagged’ this past weekend. No, not my garage again by marauding spray paint pirates. I was tagged by Donna Karlin for the Think Different Challenge.

My “Think Different”

My challenge is when people say or do things just to cause trouble, get attention, or to argue with no particular solution or point of view in mind. You know these people: the ones who ’stir the pot’, who don’t add value to a conversation, that truly thrive on being part of the problem, not part of the solution. The ones that spend all their time generating heat, yet illuminate nothing. (I’ll be writing more on this at a later date…).

Ok, with that much bias, it is no wonder I have a negative view of this issue! Here is what I am going to try to do to “think different”:

1. Listen
2. Recognize that the outburst may come from a place of fear, insecurity, or may be just plain rabblerousing.
3. Listen some more
4. Listen/look for the intent behind the action or statements
5. Look for the humor in the issue
5. Figure out what I might learn from the action or statements

Thanks Donna for a great way to start my week!

The Challenge

The Think Different Challenge is all about finding something in your life you currently have negative thoughts or feelings toward (eg work or your mother-in-law), and deciding to look at it differently. It is about realizing that some things are just a part of life, so we may as well try to find the positives in them.

TD Cow

The rules for this writing project are:

Write a new blog post in which you “think different”. Follow my suggestions above, or be a bit different and interpret the challenge the way you want.

1. State that the post is a part of the Think Different Challenge and include a link and/ or trackback to this post so that readers know the rules of the challenge. Feel free to use the above banner (inspired, of course, by Seth Godin).
2. Include a link and/or trackback to the blogger who tagged you.
3. At the end of your post, go ahead and tag some fellow bloggers. Don’t forget to email them to let them know they have been tagged.
4. That’s it! Just sit back and enjoy reading peoples’ responses to the challenge.

I Tag…

The following bloggers are tagged as a part of this challenge:

Jamie Notter at Get Me Jamie Notter
Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent
Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace
Dr. Alex Pattakos at The Meaning Difference
Greg Krauska at Change Agent Group
Stanley Bing at The Bing Blog

and

Trapper at Moosejaw

If you weren’t tagged and wish to participate, please do!

Joe Raasch :: Nov.12.2007 :: Change Management, Life :: 3 Comments »